Patrol Picnic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had two kids go over the years. They both said it was boring--long lines, not many rides. I wasn't excited about the lack of supervision (my assumption, but I"ve never been in person) but it was fine.

Lack of supervision for a 5th grader?? Mine has been off in the neighborhood since they were 8 and doing whatever kids do. Just like YOU did when you were a kid. Did Mommy and Daddy supervise you all the time in 5th grade? Stop the coddling.

Our class trip was to Dorney Park in PA for 5th grade. No cell phones. We knew of 4 posts in the park to locate a teacher or chaperone if we needed something. Otherwise, we were on our own all day. Best trip ever. Now 5th grade trips can only be to boring historic areas with a chaperone per 5 kids handing out handy wipes and feeding them apple slices. Pretty pathetic how parents have changed.

If I were a predator, a lightly chaperoned, informal picnic of a thousand ten year olds would seem like the place I'd want to be!

How does this predator know to head out to the Montgomery County Fair grounds for the morning? LOL

Well, it is the perfect get-away thru the acres of wide open fields. Not a chance any of the hundreds of kids or far too few chaperones would see. I bet the police that stay on patrol right there don't see it either. I am keeping my kid home and making them do Kumon all day. They will be so much safer.

'LOL.. this is good trolling. Congrats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to DS about this today. We agreed that he won't go, and will enjoy the day at school. I did not like the unsupervised schedule, and was worried that he may get scared on a ride, be exposed to strange noises or need a snack on the bus trip home without me there. Better safe than sorry for my DS!

PP: are you sending DS to public middle school? You might want to consider a more sheltered private. Outdoor Ed is really going to bother you. But these experiences build confidence and independence for your kid. Don’t let your anxieties become their anxieties.

Did you miss the part where OP said her kid has HFA? As the parent of a much younger child with autism, I can see how he could be a great patrol (very rule focused, detail oriented, etc.) and also be easily overwhelmed by the picnic a lot of PPs are describing. OP isn’t a helicopter parent, she’s trying to help her kid navigate a situation that’s different for him than it is for the other kids.

The kid is going to be a middle schooler in a school with a 1000+ kids. If he can't navigate a chaperoned outdoor picnic or know to take time to chill out if he is overstimulated, he shouldn't be going to mainstream middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to DS about this today. We agreed that he won't go, and will enjoy the day at school. I did not like the unsupervised schedule, and was worried that he may get scared on a ride, be exposed to strange noises or need a snack on the bus trip home without me there. Better safe than sorry for my DS!

PP: are you sending DS to public middle school? You might want to consider a more sheltered private. Outdoor Ed is really going to bother you. But these experiences build confidence and independence for your kid. Don’t let your anxieties become their anxieties.

Did you miss the part where OP said her kid has HFA? As the parent of a much younger child with autism, I can see how he could be a great patrol (very rule focused, detail oriented, etc.) and also be easily overwhelmed by the picnic a lot of PPs are describing. OP isn’t a helicopter parent, she’s trying to help her kid navigate a situation that’s different for him than it is for the other kids.

The kid is going to be a middle schooler in a school with a 1000+ kids. If he can't navigate a chaperoned outdoor picnic or know to take time to chill out if he is overstimulated, he shouldn't be going to mainstream middle school.

Have you been to the patrol picnic, or do you have a child who has? Both my kids went, and based on what they said, "a chaperoned outdoor picnic" is not an accurate description. It's more like a fair midway, only during the day, for generally-rule-following fifth-graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to DS about this today. We agreed that he won't go, and will enjoy the day at school. I did not like the unsupervised schedule, and was worried that he may get scared on a ride, be exposed to strange noises or need a snack on the bus trip home without me there. Better safe than sorry for my DS!

PP: are you sending DS to public middle school? You might want to consider a more sheltered private. Outdoor Ed is really going to bother you. But these experiences build confidence and independence for your kid. Don’t let your anxieties become their anxieties.

Did you miss the part where OP said her kid has HFA? As the parent of a much younger child with autism, I can see how he could be a great patrol (very rule focused, detail oriented, etc.) and also be easily overwhelmed by the picnic a lot of PPs are describing. OP isn’t a helicopter parent, she’s trying to help her kid navigate a situation that’s different for him than it is for the other kids.

This. He may find the combination of unfamiliar surroundings, disruption in schedule, crowds, noise and smells overwhelming. OP didn’t dismiss this outright; she gathered information to make an informed decision and let her child have a say about it. A+ parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to DS about this today. We agreed that he won't go, and will enjoy the day at school. I did not like the unsupervised schedule, and was worried that he may get scared on a ride, be exposed to strange noises or need a snack on the bus trip home without me there. Better safe than sorry for my DS!

PP: are you sending DS to public middle school? You might want to consider a more sheltered private. Outdoor Ed is really going to bother you. But these experiences build confidence and independence for your kid. Don’t let your anxieties become their anxieties.

Did you miss the part where OP said her kid has HFA? As the parent of a much younger child with autism, I can see how he could be a great patrol (very rule focused, detail oriented, etc.) and also be easily overwhelmed by the picnic a lot of PPs are describing. OP isn’t a helicopter parent, she’s trying to help her kid navigate a situation that’s different for him than it is for the other kids.

The kid is going to be a middle schooler in a school with a 1000+ kids. If he can't navigate a chaperoned outdoor picnic or know to take time to chill out if he is overstimulated, he shouldn't be going to mainstream middle school.

There’s a huge difference between a stable school schedule with familiar faces and support services in place versus a one-time chaotic event. You don’t seem to know much about HFA.

[Anonymous]

You parents are so overbearing it insane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard there is a dance fight in the alley.

Just let your kid be a kid.

Hahahaha. Have you been watching Anchorman recently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talked to DS about this today. We agreed that he won't go, and will enjoy the day at school. I did not like the unsupervised schedule, and was worried that he may get scared on a ride, be exposed to strange noises or need a snack on the bus trip home without me there. Better safe than sorry for my DS!

PP: are you sending DS to public middle school? You might want to consider a more sheltered private. Outdoor Ed is really going to bother you. But these experiences build confidence and independence for your kid. Don’t let your anxieties become their anxieties.

Did you miss the part where OP said her kid has HFA? As the parent of a much younger child with autism, I can see how he could be a great patrol (very rule focused, detail oriented, etc.) and also be easily overwhelmed by the picnic a lot of PPs are describing. OP isn’t a helicopter parent, she’s trying to help her kid navigate a situation that’s different for him than it is for the other kids.

The kid is going to be a middle schooler in a school with a 1000+ kids. If he can't navigate a chaperoned outdoor picnic or know to take time to chill out if he is overstimulated, he shouldn't be going to mainstream middle school.

Maybe PP's kid just wouldn't find this experience enjoyable. It's supposed to be a fun thing, right? Why do you or anyone else care, if PP and kid think it wouldn't be all that much fun for kid? Why make predictions about MS over this? I'm sure PP's kid will figure out MS (which has a routine) and adjust. Maybe it will be rocky in the beginning. But, school is a requirement, a picnic is not. Let's just leave PP's kids alone. I think PP is in touch and informed.

[Anonymous]

Yes, PP made the right call for her DS, of course. But MS will be full of new challenges and many trips like this to navigate. DS may not want to sit out all of them. And maybe he’d be just fine. (And yes, I have a kid who went to the patrol picnic and know plenty of kids who are HFA and go on trips.)

[Anonymous]

I am calling the school to see why they even have this patrol picnic. Total waste of a day. They can honor the patrol kids with a popsicle at lunch time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am calling the school to see why they even have this patrol picnic. Total waste of a day. They can honor the patrol kids with a popsicle at lunch time.

Indeed.. how dare the school allow these kids who have taken on this responsibility from being pulled out of school to celebrate. Kids should not be allowed to have any fun. School is a place for learning, not having fun. I'm with you PP. Please report back on what the school says.


/s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am calling the school to see why they even have this patrol picnic. Total waste of a day. They can honor the patrol kids with a popsicle at lunch time.

Damn you, Poe's Law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They still do a patrol picnic? That's so great! I still remember mine... in 1977. Do they still have it at the Gaithersburg Fairground?

Yup. I just went by on the train this morning, and there it was, all set up.

Is it like the fair? Are there rides, carousels, etc?

[Anonymous]

NP. I'm with the PP who is calling the school. I didn't move into the Wayside cluster so that DD can waste a day at a picnic or on rides at the "Gaithersburg" fairground. Who knows what part of "Gaithersburg" this place is. Not happy.

[Anonymous]

DD loved going on rides today at the patrol picnic!